Door latch misalignment occurs usually in older or damaged vehicles, and less often in new vehicles where the door simply has not been assembled in proper alignment with the autobody.
The problem can also arise in the course of correcting misalignment of the so-called "character lines" (surface contours or other body panel shapes, or other exterior details such as paint work, decals or other decorative or functional trim). The first step in realigning the character lines is to loosen the striker from the door post and reposition it either up or down by an amount equal to the amount of misalignment that is observed between corresponding features on the door and the balance of the body. The striker is then secured in its new position, and if the repositioning is in any way substantial then the latch and striker plate will be vertically misaligned as a consequence of adjusting the striker.
In either case the problem manifests as difficulty in operating the door. For the purposes of this patent specification, misalignment shall refer to vertical misalignment between the latch and striker of the automobile door assembly.
In prior attempts at correcting the door latch misalignment problems, recourse was typically taken to the use of a lever, such as a length of the so called "2.times.4" wall studding. With the door of the car at least partially opened, one end of this lever was then placed on the sill of the door opening, with an intermediate portion of the stud being positioned beneath the open door in contacting relation therewith, and the other, free end extending beyond the exterior of the door. The free end was then lifted to force the door back into the desired alignment. A number of difficulties are associated with this practice.
When the lever is lifted against the bottom of the door, the tendency is for the door to move along the stud, with the result that the force applied to the door tends to curl the bottom of the door panel rather than lifting the door upwardly against its hinges. In addition, the lifting force is applied to the lower surfaces of the door, and the load bearing capacity of this portion of the door may not be sufficient to allow the door latch to be realigned without crushing the bottom of the door. This problem is exacerbated in older cars where rust has further weakened the bottom of the door.
Also, the height of the free end of the stud in such an application is only slightly above floor level unless the car is first placed up on jacks. In addition to being inconvenient and time consuming, the use of jacks can be dangerous, since considerable leverage force is sometimes required to correct the misalignment. Without the jacks on the other hand, there is the very real risk of back injury to an operator who must bend down to exert leverage from a point so close to floor level.
Accordingly there exists a need for a tool more suitable for correcting common misalignment problems in door latches.